The Ravenstone – Diane Solomon and Mark Carey

The Ravenstone is an adventurous and enthralling story about twins Nadia and Aidan and their secret mission taking them on a magical journey through time…

Introduction

The Secret of Ninham Mountain

I love reading about the 13-year-old twins Nadia and Aidan who live in Cold Spring, New York. They stumble upon a mysterious dark stone, hidden underneath a mirror in the attic. There is something magical about the mirror that only the twins can see. There is an old wizard in the mirror who beckons them. With him is a black raven. When the wizard disappears a single black feather is lying on the floor. How is that possible? Follow me and find out!

Storyline

Nadia and Aidan have that special bond only twins experience. Nadia just loves the almost two centuries old parental home where they live and where her grandmother Catherine grew up. Did you know that Catherine also had a twin? She and her twin sister Liz were inseparable until the day Catherine died of a mysterious disease. That was a very sad day for the family. After some time, their grandfather and Liz fell in love and married. No wonder the twins call Liz aunty-gran! It is because of there not having been a cure for his mother’s illness that the twins’ father Michael dedicates his life to the ‘Project’: research into finding a medicine to cure the disease.

The twins don’t know this yet but Michael is facing a tremendously serious decision: the ‘Project’ is about to be closed down as there are no more research funds to pay for it. Michael is devastated because this is what he always wanted to do and he does not want to give up. But it looks like he is not given a choice. Aidan and Nadia are shocked because it means they would have to move! Leaving their family home, that for Nadia represents “all of her connection to the past, present and future, her memories, her life and love”?!If only Nadia and Aidan could find a way to discover the cure they would not have to move. It is a coincidence that when Aidan and Nadia are in the attic, something unexpected happens?

Nadia hears a sound, turns around to find the source and that is when she spots it: the old dusty mirror is coming alive! There is an image of a wizard with a brown robe, a wooden staff and a black raven on his shoulder. How it is possible that he can move inside the mirror? And what is the meaning of the black raven? The twins are in awe as the old wizard seems to beckon them – tries to send a message. Is he dangerous? Should they be terrified of what obviously are mysterious powers moving in their direction? Aidan, the logical thinker, tries to find an explanation that makes sense but fails to come up with one. The wizard leaves a cryptic message behind that Aidan and Nadia are eager to solve.

Can you decipher this?

Are you able to see what is written there? With a little help from aunty-gran Liz Aidan and Nadia figure it out. I will not disclose what it says nor where Aidan and Naida are looking, but I can tell you what they find: a beautifully carved black stone with magical powers. If twins hold this Ravenstone at the same time, they can feel a surge of energy going through them, empowering them and making them stronger and more susceptible to their surroundings. But there is more .. Aidan and Nadia realise they are time travelling as they notice they are looking at themselves, sitting at the kitchen table in their home! What a frightening and also exciting thought – being able to go back to the past or move forward to the future.

Now they have proved worthy of the wizard’s real goal: he is sending them on a highly important secret mission which, if accomplished successfully, could change human lives forever. There is only one way to perform the mission: going back centuries in time. It is a dangerous mission that lies before Aidan and Nadia and they have to find the courage to fulfil the task before them. They have to follow the black raven on an ominous journey back in time. If they fail they will never be able to go back to their own time. If they succeed – who knows how many lives will be saved. There is one more thing: they must not, under any condition, alter the course of history for fear of changing our world today.

My Thoughts

Wow, what a fascinating story and adventurous journey Aidan and Nadia have to follow! Can you imagine stumbling upon an old mirror in the attic and then watching it come to life? Finding a wizard in it with a black raven on his shoulder – how creepy is that? Then he beckons you. Do you follow? Or do you run away screaming? It takes a lot of courage to do what Aidan and Nadia must do – but they are determined to do it anyway! I loved reading this adventurous and magical tale about the twins and their powers. Here is one book you will not put down easily, whether you are an adult (young at heart) or a teen: you have to read on to discover the world of centuries ago and our predecessors.

Diane Solomon and Mark Carey have woven an extraordinary story around the twins and the mirror-theme. The novel is written for middle-grade readers and I’m sure they will love it as it has got the detail, the language befitting the age group, as well as the adventure, the magical and the mystery waiting to be solved. Sometimes it gets a bit scary and dangerous which aspects add perfectly to what explorative middle-graders would love to read about in my opinion. I loved reading it! To be recommended for everyone of whatever age, who enjoys an adventurous fantasy novel!

About the Authors

Authors Diane Solomon and Mark Carey live in southern New Hampshire, USA. Diane Solomon enjoyed a wonderfully diverse career path that included her own variety show on BBC TV in England. She is a writer, singer, songwriter, homoeopath and nutritionist. As a performing artist, she opened for among others Kenny Rogers and toured the world. Diane’s first book is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A guide to the homoeopathic treatment of CFS/M.E., which she wrote from her own experience and following studies. Mark Carey is a biologist and environmentalist and a professional voiceover artist. Mark has always been a dreamer and storyteller and, now he has retired, is “free to pursue my writing full-time.” The result: this adventurous middle-grade fantasy novel, successfully created with his wife Diane. According to Mark the story “sprang from tales of the Hudson Valley and the Catskill region of New York State, my childhood home.”